Of Flowers and Powers
by mya3dan
Summary: Vash is being forced to wear a frilly apron and work at a flower shop for a week, so when an obnoxious stranger drops off a random Japanese man and leaves, his day goes from bad to worse. But was this a coincidence? Quite a bit of USXUK in this too.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This was inspired by (but not at all related to) xNeve and her wonderful USXUK story, "When in America". You should all go read it because it's really awesome. Enjoy (I hope) ;)**

**Rated T for language and implied... stuff.**

**Disclaimer: I (sadly) don't own Hetalia.**

**xxx**

Of Flowers and Powers

By mya3dan

Chapter 1: This is why I didn't want you to go to America

There is a small flower shop that resides in New York City. It's just as you would expect a flower shop to be; brick walls and different varieties of sweet smelling flowers lining the walls; the sun shines in from the windows, giving the shop a pleasant and warm feeling. It was the kind of shop you would expect a sweet young girl to be at. Those who worked at this shop wore a white apron that had sides of pink lace. Unfortunately, the one who was currently wearing said apron was not a cute girl, nor was he very pleasant to look at. There was a wave of annoyance and humiliation radiating off of him that clashed with the peaceful atmosphere of the shop. As customers moved around the store, they avoided eye contact with him at all costs. There was someone, though, that seemed oblivious the blond haired man's displeasure.

"Thanks for helping out this week, big brother," said a young girl with short blond hair and a German accent. "I didn't know what I was going to do when Roderich had a family emergency."

The Swiss man took a deep breath, " No problem Lili." He let the breath out. He was doing this for her, he reminded himself. Even if she had started this flower shop with his prick of an ex-roommate; even if she had moved to America without once asking if he was okay with it; even if he hardly got to see her anymore.

The apron was a bit much though.

Just as he was about to (once again) question the necessity of said apron, the door burst open with a crash.

"HEYA LILI!"

The Swiss was about to whip out the gun he had hidden under his apron (the only thing the damn apron was good for) and teach the rude man just what flower shop etiquette was, when something froze him in his tracks.

"Good morning Alfred," Lili said with a bright smile. "What brings you here today?"

"Nothin' much Nothin' much, I just brought – Hey who's that? Where'd the stuffy guy with the glasses go?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! This is my big brother, Vash." Lili then began to tell the 'oh so sad' tale of how that prick's long lost relative, (who was apparently Italian), died of old age and put him in the will, even though they had never met. But Vash wasn't going to let her finish.

"You _know_ this asshole?"

Said asshole responded before Lili could. "Yup! My girl Lili and Rho- what was his name? - The Rhode Island guy were looking for a good place to start a shop, right? Not helping a girl in need is like, immediate hero disqualification, so I hooked them up with my pal Artie, who handles buildings and crap like that, I figured he would get along with the stuffy dude because their both, well, you know…" At this point Alfred closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side, a snoring sound escaped him.

Vash only got one thing out of the entire speech. "Lili is not YOUR GIRL and if you EVER refer to her as such again I'll shove a-"

He was interrupted by an obnoxiously loud ring tone that sounded suspiciously like the star spangled banner. There was an awkward silence until Vash couldn't take it any more. "Aren't you going to answer that?"

"Nope," Alfred said cheerfully, seemingly not swayed by the others previous death threats. The ringing cut off and Alfred continued. "So anyway, I decided to be even more of a hero than I already am and bring you customers too!" Alfred stepped aside to reveal a small Asian man with glossy eyes and hair that was a bit too long to be considered short.

"Konichiwa, I am very pleased to meet you," the small man said with a thick accent.

"It's nice to meet you too," Lili said, mimicking the Asian man's bow.

"Was he there the entire time?" Vash said loudly in disbelief.

Alfred turned to him, and with a concerned tone, said, "You should lower your voice, Lash, I know your surprised, but please remember that your still in a shop." Vash's face started to turn a dangerous shade of red, not from embarrassment, but from attempting not to jump across the counter to maim the other. Luckily, before that could happen, Alfred began to speak again. " Yo Kiks, you need to stop blending in to the surroundings, that's Mattie's job."

"We shall see."

"So…." Alfred said with a smile, "Name: Kiku Honda, Occupation: Ninja. Enjoys long walks on the beach and assembling miniature transformers… oh sorry, I mean Gundam. And despite what he looks like, this guy plays a mean game of Mario Cart." Alfred smiled triumphantly and seemed to expect applause or something.

Lili clasped her hands together in delight, "So do you like flowers, Kiku?" A light came to into Kiku's normally vacant eyes, but Alfred began to speak first. "You bet he does, he does some weird Japanese 'ancient art of placing the flower vase' or something. He was telling me about it earlier and I immediately thought of your shop!"

Vash scoffed. He couldn't imagine Alfred listening to anything. And what was with this wimpy Japanese man? He shouldn't let that obnoxious buffoon of a man (was he really a man? He looked and acted more like a teenager) slap him around. Vash was about to tell him as much when the stupid ring tone came on again.

"Would you turn that thing off!" Vash said, becoming increasingly impatient.

Alfred blinked in surprise. "But it might be important." Vash was about to tell him to get the hell out of his sister's store, no matter what Lili might think, when Alfred answered the phone.

"Heeeeeeeeey Artie! We were just talking about you! Kiku says that people sneeze when that happens. Did you sneeze in the last five minutes? Well your no fun. Ahahahaha! Of course I got the paperwork done, the deadlines tomorrow right? It's today? Well I definitely got it done. Rubbish? You know that I don't speak British, Artie. All right, all right I'm coming. No really I'm coming! Jeez why is everything so bloody in England? Isn't it kind of a given that Hell is bloody anyway? You know Artie, threatening people isn't good for your health. Ahahahaha! Seeya!"

Alfred hung up the phone and turned back towards the counter. "Hey I gotta go Lili, mind watching Kiku for a while? Great! Make sure he gets at least three pieces of sushi an hour. And if your going to play Mario cart, what ever you do, don't let him be Yoshi, he will dominate. Thanks again Lili!" Alfred stormed out of the flower shop, leaving Kiku, Lili, and Vash in yet another awkward silence.

Vash sighed and looked at his sister, "This is exactly why I didn't want you to come to America."

**xxx**

_The business man paced back and forth, more out of nervous habit than anything. He was wearing a black suit and his shoes were shined, suggesting his importance in the world. His eyebrows, which were slightly larger than usual, were furrowed. So concentrated was he on pacing, he nearly jumped out of his skin when a man walked through the door. _

_"Heya," said the newcomer softly._

_The business man was furious. "Christ Alfred! You nearly scared the shit out of me!" To this, Alfred laughed softly, witch was a change to his usual loudness. The business man blushed and took a deep breath, "Did you do it?"_

_"Of course I did, how could you ever doubt me?" Alfred pouted. "And there was a new guy there, you said that after Roderich left she would be alone."_

_The business man furrowed his brows yet again, "I suspected as much, but I was hoping against it. And you bloody git! Why didn't you answer my phone call the first time?"_

_Alfred rolled his eyes. "_I'm_ not the one who called too early, that Vash guy was on to me, I swear." Alfred looked at his worrying boss with amusement. "Hey Artie, you really aren't cut out for this evil master mind thing, are you? You're supposed to be laughing maniacally and revealing your master plan as your enemies lie on a Conveyor Belt of Doom." _

_The business man released some stress with a wry smile. "And aren't you supposed to be the hero? You shouldn't even be helping me."_

_"It doesn't matter as long as I get to be _your_ hero, Artie." _

_The business man's face turned as red as a tomato, and it was several moments before he was able to speak. __"J-Just... make sure he d-doesn't leave that place, you git!" _

_Alfred smiled a smile that wasn't as innocent as before, "Of course, boss."_

**xxx**

**It is done! Well the first chapter anyway... What do you think? Good? Crap? WTF Japan and Switzerland? All viable answers. Feel free to record them in the review section.**

** This is my first actual fanfic (my first was just a messed up dream where I was Kyon), so feel free to rip it apart and tell me how I can do better. Actually, don't feel free, just do. **

**And I promise that Japan and Switzerland are the main characters of this story, Alfred just likes to take over sometimes... I can't control him. XD**


	2. Pretty in Pink

**Ahaha... You know how I was all like, HEY GUYZ THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL TOTALLY BE OUT WITHIN THE WEEK!... well, I lied. :D. I was busy blah blah, looking for colleges blah blah, I won't bore you with my lame excuses. But it's Spring Break! Which means the only thing I'll be doing for the week is writing fanfiction and playing ze golf! **

**Anyway, we just finished dream analysis and Freud in AP Psych, so I thought it would be fun for us to take a peak into Vash's subconscious! Yay!**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Hetalia.**

**Rated T for language and excessive amounts of pink.**

**xxx**

Of Flowers and Powers

by mya3dan

Chapter 2: Pretty in Pink

_The summer day was on the verge of being too hot, but not quite. It was perfect. It was so perfect that it could never last, but Vash ignored that thought as soon as it crossed his mind. The wind blew gently as he watched a young girl in the distance._

_"Big brother!" The girl said with a smile, braids blowing in the wind. She turned and revealed arms full of wild flowers and started running back towards him. Vash then did something that he hardly ever did. He smiled._

_The girl running towards him suddenly stopped. Vash watched in confusion as the wildflowers fell to the ground. When he looked up again, the girl's braids were gone. In their place was a simple bob cut. The girl turned and ran in the other direction, towards a city that hadn't been there before. A city with too many buildings, too many cars, and a single green statue at its forefront. She was leaving him behind._

_Vash started to panic. "No," he said. He tried to get up to chase after her, but he couldn't move from where he was sitting. "Wait!" he cried desperately. But it was too late. The girl was already far away and getting closer and closer to the city. Soon, she was gone._

**xxx**

The reason why Vash angrily chewed his cereal with open disgust wasn't because he had a nightmare last night; and it wasn't because the cereal he happened to be eating was f!cking Lucky charms, curtsey of Lili; and it wasn't because he had to share the meal with a spineless Japanese freeloader who never voiced his own opinions. Rather, it was a combination of the three. But mostly the last one.

Lili, however, seemed to be immune to the toxic wave of pissed-offedness that was currently emitting from him. "So Kiku, what do you do for a living?"

Kiku looked up. "I'm a photographer. I've been working some special requests for a few customers, but I haven't found a full time job yet."

Great, Vash thought, now they had an _unemployed_ Japanese freeloader staying at their house. Oh yes, he spent the night last night. After Alfred asked Lili to "watch him for a while", Kiku had spent three hours reading every, yes _every_ flower description in the whole goddamn flower shop.

Alfred never came back.

When it was time for the shop to close, Lili thought it would be a wonderful idea for Kiku to stay the night. Vash would have said something along the lines of "Hell no!" and kicked him out, but….. well, Lili was a very hard person to say no to.

And so, Kiku had slept on their couch, and Vash had padlocked Lili's room.

Lili stood up, pulling the Swiss man back to the present. "I'm going to get ready for work," she announced cheerfully. He had never seen someone as excited to go to work as Lili was, though she was never this way in Switzerland. Not that she had a job there.

As she left the room, Vash turned his glare from the Lucky Charms to a silent Japanese man. "So why are you still here? Don't you have anywhere to go?"

Kiku kept an expressionless face and calmly sipped his tea. "I am staying with Alfred."

"Then why don't you go to his house? Or call him?"

At this, Kiku shifted his gaze to the side, "He is not answering his phone, and I… do not know where he lives."

"Don't give me that crap, you just said you were staying with him!"

Kiku paused, and didn't respond at first. His eyes drifted to the floor. "Alfred is... a bit eccentric, but he means well."

"What does that even mean? Why don't you ever give straight answers?"

Kiku was never able to reply as a young girl in a pink frilled apron strolled through the door. "Alright, I'm ready! Shall we go?"

**xxx**

When Vash originally got the call from Lili, asking if he would come to America for a few weeks to help out with her shop, she had warned him that he wouldn't get paid. Lili simply couldn't afford to pay another employee, in fact, she could hardly pay for anything. Yet she had never asked for his help. Not for clothes, silver wear, anything. The Zwingli family is one of the wealthiest families in Switzerland; owning the largest gun making company in the world. A company that Vash would one day control, so it wasn't like he couldn't give her money, or at least let her borrow some. But Lili had refused all his offers. Had refused any of his help, until now. But she took what she could get in a pinch. Some how, Lili had gotten not one, but two free workers for her shop.

The usual bubble of humiliation and annoyance was around Vash, but today it was less about the apron, and more about the company. It was still about the apron, though.

By some horrible twist of fate, Kiku Honda was now working at a flower shop in a feeble attempt to pay for freeloading at Lili's house until a certain American decided to show up. Now, this wouldn't normally be a problem, but Vash happened to be working at the same flower shop, at the same time.

Lili clasped her hands together. "All right! Kiku, you can take care of the cleaning while big brother minds the register. I have to run a few errands, but I'll be back soon. Oh, and the shop's open, but don't expect any customers for an hour or so." And with that she gracefully exited the shop.

As soon as she was gone, Vash turned around to continue the interrogation he had began that morning.

"Now tell me wh-"

Vash stopped speaking. And for a split second, he stopped thinking as well.

Kiku was wearing the standard (pink) laced apron, that, Vash expected. He was also wearing a (pink) bandanna tied around his head , this, Vash also expected. What he did not expect was for Kiku to look so... different. Not different, per say, but... Okay so Vash didn't really know how to describe it, but the conveniently placed (pink of course) flowers behind Kiku (very suspicious) and the early morning light shining down on him from the window wasn't helping. Also, the way his eyes were sort of deep and-

"Vash-san, are you okay?"

Vash blinked a few times. "I'm fine, and what's that supposed to mean?"

"Ah, it's nothing."

"Then get to work! I'm not letting you cheat my sister!"

"I suppose so."

As Kiku began to clean the shop, Vash felt something tighten in his chest. He frowned in confusion, but it wasn't much, so he decided to forget about it.

Vash found his eyes lazily following Kiku around the room as he waited for customers to show up. A fact that he attributed to boredom. Vash slapped himself. He needed something else to think about, and fast. Who's fault was this whole mess anyway?

Alfred.

Vash was imagining all the ways he would torture the fool if he ever came back when he caught the sweet scent of vanilla ice cream, and said fool walked through the door.

**xxx**

**A/N: Oh noes Alfred returns! Or does he? Anyway, I just thought of this now, but I'm sorry if I'm confusing you guys with the three separate plot bunnies in this thing. I kind of got confuzzled myself. (But I have an outline now! PROGRESS!)**

**1. Vash and Lili's sibling trauma. 2. Vash and Kiku's immanent romance. (You can't escape it Vash XD) 3. Evil!Arthur's plan to take over the world! Mwahahaha! (not really)**

**Never fear, they will soon join together to create the monster plot bunny that will devour all other plot bunnies in it's path!**

**Please Review! They are like fuel for me! You have no idea how good it feels when you get a review, or maybe you do if you write stories, seeya next chapter! (It's my favorite)**


	3. A tale of two phone calls

**Awesome reviewers are awesome. I'm serious guys, you rock. And how to I reward the most amazing people in the world? I take over two weeks to post a chapter. :'( Yep. Annnnyway, I have a schedule now, so there should be a one chapter a week thing going on. I hope. Enjoy the chapter!**

**Rated T for language and identity crisis.**

**Disclaimer: Alas, I still don't own Hetalia.**

**Carlos = Cuba  
****Ms Hedervary = Hungary**

**xxx**

Of Flowers and Powers

By mya3dan

Chapter 3: A tale of two phone calls

Matthew Williams was having a very good day. He had gotten a good night's sleep and it had only taken 15 minuets to convince Carlos that he was, in fact, himself. They were now enjoying walking the streets of the city in the lovely morning. The birds were singing, Carlos had gotten ice cream. Kumawhatshisname wasn't even questioning his existence yet. Yes, today was a very good day.

It was at this point that Matthew came across a certain flower shop. It was small, but it looked welcoming.

"Hey Carlos, want to go to that flower shop? I could use something to brighten up the house."

"Sure."

They walked into the flower shop, Matthew leading the way for once. But as soon as the Canadian walked though the door, he could tell something was wrong. The shop didn't have the laid back feeling that it should have, rather, the aura was quite tense. Matthew looked to the cash register in confusion.

"Hel-

Mathew then found himself on the floor with a gun in his face.

**xxx**

"Alfred you bastard! How dare you show your face here again!"

Vash was pissed off. In fact, he was so upset he failed to notice the large man with a Spanish accent until now.

"You lied to me! You said you weren't Alfred!"

"I-I'm not! M-maple..."

Vash was getting tired of this game, and fast. "Shut up and answer my questions!"

"Ah, Matthew-san, it is good to see you."

Vash swung his head around to see Kiku approaching, "What?"

The Japanese man, as usual, kept his look of indifference. "This is Matthew Williams-san, Alfred-kun's brother."

Vash looked down at apparently-not-Alfred. Was he... _crying?_ Alfred didn't seem to be the type to cry. And was his hair always that curly? "Oh." Vash got up and replaced his gun behind the apron.

Carlos looked confused. "Not Alfred? Then who are you again?"

The Canadian sat up and dried his tears before letting out a less than intimidating yell. "I'm Matthew!"

"I'm sorry mi amigo! I did not recognize you at fir-"

"I'm Matthew god dammit! I like hockey and curling and I HATE HAMBURGERS! See? Look at my hair style! It's curly! Nothing like Alfred! I-I I have a FREAKING POLAR BEAR! See? Alfred doesn't have a polar bear! Our glasses are different too! See? The middle part is..."

As Matthew continued to rant about how exactly he wasn't Alfred, Carlos turned to Vash. "He's got identity issues."

Suddenly, Vash got an idea. "Hey, you're his brother, so you know where he is right?"

Matthew stopped ranting. "I don't know where he lives. Ever since Alfred got a new job he sold his house. I think he lives in a hotel or something."

Vash cursed. "So you don't have _any_ way to get a hold of him?"

"He does have a cell phone..."

"He doesn't answer it!"

Matthew cringed. "Stop being so loud. You probably called his work phone. He has a separate one for family and friends... which is probably just me. I don't know who his friends are... he's been distant lately..."

"Call him now!"

Matthew finally stood up. "You don't have to be so pushy. But Alfred deserves some trouble, so fine." He dialed a number. At first Vash thought that he would have to take the phone from Matthew, but Alfred's voice was so loud that everyone could hear it from where they were standing.

"_Mattie!" _Vash frowned at hearing the voice yet again.

"Alfred, I told you to stop being a jerk to everyone. I'm the one who has to pay for it!"

_"Ahahaha! But it builds your character!"_

_ "_I'm going to pretend you didn't say that. Where are you right now?"

_"Ummm... I can't really tell you!"_

"Really? Come on Al I'm your brother and I haven't seen you in a month."

"_I'm on a super secret mission right now though! And Artie said I shouldn't tell you..."_

"Again with this Arthur person? Who's more important here?"

"_..._"

"Alfred?"

_"I-" _

Vash snatched the phone._ "_Come back and get Kiku! You're a jerk for leaving him here alone with no where to go!"

Said Japanese man looked at him with a (yet again) expressionless face while Vash's cheeks turned a blazing red. Alfred did not respond for a minuet, but when he did it was quiet and low.

"_It should all be over soon enough." _The line went dead.

**xxx**

Things had taken a turn for the depressing, and thank the heavens no actual customers had shown up yet. Matthew was was sitting on the chair behind the cash register, looking down with unfocused eyes.

"He didn't respond. We always tell each other everything, that's what family does right?"

Vash was getting fed up with listening to the Canadian (who still looked way too much like Alfred for his own good) mope about his brother. It's not like they all didn't know Alfred was an obnoxious jerk, why was he so surprised?

"I'm sure he didn't really mean it mi amigo."

"Then why won't he answer any of my calls? Am I even going to see him again?"

But Vash had had enough. "Man up and get on with your life! If your brother wants to talk to you again he'll call you! Christ you're almost as bad as Kiku!"

Matthew looked up on the verge of tears. "Lets go Carlos," he said emptily. They started to walk towards the door, but were stopped. Kiku stood calmly with a single flower in his hand. It was a blue iris. He handed it to Matthew. The Canadian stopped for a second, and the tears he had been holding back finally flowed freely down his face. Matthew took the iris and left, Carlos following close behind.

**xxx**

"What was that?" Vash said when they were gone.

Kiku smiled, "Are you not familiar with the language of flowers?"

The way he said it kind of ticked Vash off. "And you are?"

Kiku looked down at his hands. Wait... was he embarrassed? "Ah... it is my hobby. Feelings that cannot be expressed easily in words can be conveyed in flowers. They can also be used to describe people. The blue iris speaks of retaining faith, and hope for the future."

Vash was surprised. Who knew the spineless Asian man could actually say something so... meaningful? The something in his chest tightened again. Vash frowned, and took a step forward. "Flowers can describe people too right? What flower am I?"

The small Japanese man looked up at him, the space between them noticeably smaller. Just as Kiku was about to answer, the phone rang.

_ Briiiing! Briiiiing!_

Neither of them said anything, almost trying to pretend the ring never happened.

_Briiing! Briiiing!_

"Um, I'll get that." Vash said as he stomped across the store to the phone, upset for a reason he didn't quite understand.

"What?" He said irritably into the phone.

A pompous voice that just made you want the punch the owner in the face responded. _"Good lord, is that really how you answer the phone for perspective customers? I'll have to talk to Lili about keeping you away from such things."_

Great. As a fitting conclusion to an almost perfectly f*cked up morning, the prick had called. Said prick was currently in Rome finding out what he inherited from his late (Itallian?) relative. He was also supposed to be back here tomorrow, which actually was a relief to Vash, no matter how much he hated to admit it. Gone were the days of spineless Japanese men and obnoxious Americans. Gone were the days of constantly being surrounded by suspiciously pink flowers, and, most important of all, gone would be the cursed pink apron. He and Lili could spend some time together.

"What do you want? Hurry up and get back here."

There was a pause on the other end of the line that seemed to drag on.

"Roderich?"

_ "Ah... well... It's going to take a bit longer until I can return than expected..."_

"I thought you just went for a will reading? How long could it possibly take?"

"_Well, the lawyer there, Ms. Hedervary, she... strongly recommends I stay for a while..."_

Vash sighed. What was with everyone lacking a back bone lately? "Just tell her no. As much as I hate to say it, Lili needs you here to handle the shops' finances."

"_I do want to come back, and I would reject her, but.. erm... there are some... pictures..."_

"Pictures."

_"Yes, I have no idea where she got them... and, well... you'll just have to do with out me for a while."_

_ "_What the hell? Get back here now! Don't inconvenience Lili for some stupid pictures! Are you listening to me?"

But Roderich had already hung up. Slamming the phone down, Vash turned to Kiku who was standing on his toes, trying to clean a high shelf. And his chest tightened again.

**xxx**

_ The business man typed furiously at his computer, trying to get his seemingly endless supply of work done. A message popped up in front of what he was working on. Glaring at the message that had interrupted, he failed to notice (yet again) the arrival of a certain person until said person put a note card in between his eyebrows. _

_ "Wha-?"_

_ "Ahahahaha! It totally stays! I knew it!"_

_ The business man scowled and flung the note card from the crease of his eyebrows to the floor. "Do you have any idea how busy I am?"_

_ Alfred picked up the card and returned it to his pocket. "Too busy, your face is going to stay like that if you're not careful." _

_ The business man sighed. "This wouldn't be a problem if the damn frog was more reliable. I told him to call me as soon as possible, it's been three hours! Three!"_

_ "Mmm hmmm. I could help you out more you know. You don't even need Francis."_

_ "Please. A 19 year old kid is hardly a lawyer. Unfortunately, we need him. Especially now that the Kiku plan flopped."_

_ Alfred smiled. "It may have failed in how it was originally intended, but... it could end up accomplishing the same goal in a different way."_

_ "How?"_

_ "Lets just say that Swiss guy said something interesting today." His face fell. "I also talked to Mattie."_

_The business man frowned. "You don't have to keep-"_

"_Say Artie," he said while wrapping his arms around the other. "When you finally get what you want, lets go to an amusement park."_

"_Wha-? Wh- why?"_

"_I want to see your face on a roller coaster!"_

_The business man looked back with a incredulous, yet flushed, face. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."_

_Alfred pulled away. "Then it's a date." He left before the business man had a chance to complain._

_He shook his head. His thoughts were always jumbled after talking to Alfred. Turning his attention back to the computer, he opened the message. _

**To: Kirkland4**

**From: LizzieYoai4life**

_** Success!~ **_

_And the business man smiled._

**xxx**

**And the plot thickens! XD Yay! Next chapter is the awkward date chapter****. And I realize, I haven't really read any Swipan fics, at all. Any recommendations? Shameless plugging? All is welcome.**

**On a completely unrelated note, have you guys read the Hetalia April Fools comic 2011 yet? GO READ IT. All I have to say is that it involves nurse!Iggy and skimpymaid!Russia. Yeah. Go. **

**Review Please! Tell me what you think. What's good and what makes you want to club me with a faucet pipe? ... I need to read a Russia fic. Badly.**


	4. Hard Work and Denial

**Ha! Just don't believe anything I say anymore. Anyway, long chapter is long! ... At least for me. There will only be one more chapter after this one, and I don't think it will take this long to come out... at least I hope.**

**This Chapter: Questions will be answered and (my first attempt at) Smut will be had! WOOT!**

**The beginning of this chapter is why you shouldn't keep your feelings bottled up inside of you. Does things to your head man.**

**Rated T for stuff actually starting to happen.**

**Disclaimer: I disclaim.**

**xxx**

Of Flowers and Powers

By: mya3dan

Chapter 4: Hard Work and Denial

Bang.

Skin crunched against the wall with force.

Bang.

Again.

Really, how far could one person fall in just five days? In just five days Vash had gone from calm and collected to banging his head against the wall in public restroom stalls. And why was he doing this you ask? Who knows. All he knew was that it was getting harder and harder to think. Think about anything. These days Vash would often forget what he should be doing in favor of sitting down to watch the wind blow through chimes, or to watch the reddening leaves tumble to the ground one by one. Sometimes Kiku would sit by him and explain the meaning of what seemed like every plant that existed.

Kiku.

That was really the only time when he could think, when Kiku was next to him. Nothing else made sense. And that in itself was confusing.

But even in those times of clarity, another problem presented itself: The something in his chest was getting worse. From the first time the something had tightened, five days ago, it had steadily grown more painful. Where at first the pain was only occasional, and went away soon after, now it was constant and throbbing. The something was twisted so tightly that he was afraid it could snap at any moment. And yet the doctor said there was nothing wrong. Stupid American doctors, yet another reason for Lili to return home as soon as possible. Maybe he could ship in a Swiss doctor in the meantime. As Vash tried to process this thought (hey, the banging really did help with the thinking problem, albeit short lived), a concerned voice came thought the rest room door.

"Vash-san, are you okay?"

A lightning bolt of energy shot from his ears to his toes. Great. Yet another thing to add to the list of problems. Giving his head a final bang for good measure, he came out of the stall clinging to shreds of his dignity.

"I'm fine, lets go."

They were going to pick up some planting soil for Lili, who (after finding out about the, erm, equipment under his apron) didn't let Vash be alone at the store anymore. Frowning, he dug for the list inside Lili's (pink) bag. The wind sped up and the bag tumbled to the ground. Or tried to. Kiku somehow caught it before it did. Vash stared, that guy got weirder every day.

"Here," the Asian man said softly. And then stopped. Kiku was staring at the bag and the few papers that had fallen out of it.

"What?" Vash said as he snatched the papers out of his hands. He didn't see the problem. It was just the list, a few receipts, and a picture of Roderich. He frowned. Why Lili kept pictures of that prick he would never know.

"Who is the man in that picture?" Kiku asked, worriedly.

"Just Roderich, you know, the guy who runs the shop with Lili. At least he should be, the bastard's still in Rome for who knows why."

"Oh." Kiku's eyes dropped to the left. Guilt. Over the past week Vash had learned to read the other like a book. The Japanese man didn't show emotion like other people, but his eyes gave him away. Left to the side meant amusement; Straight up meant he was thinking hard about something; Right and down meant embarrassment; and that was only a few. But left and down? Kiku had only used that particular direction once, when he broke a flower vase yesterday. It was definitely guilt.

"What do you know about Roderich?" He asked, continuing down the street.

Eyes widened. Surprise. "I've never met him."

Vash scoffed. "Yeah, sure. Then why are you so guilty?"

A blush of embarassment. "I-I-"

"HOW CAN THE AWESOME ME HELP YOU?"

Vash's head snapped from Kiku to the voice's source. An albino man glared back at him.

The man sighed. "I'm tired of listening to you and I do have a business to run so what is it you want?"

They had somehow gotten to the shop with the soil without noticing. Vash was about to tell the man just how he could help them, and the rest of the world too, when Kiku spoke out. "We are here for Lili-san's order."

The man's red eyes lit up. "Lili? Sure just a second." He disappeared into

the back.

Vash turned to Kiku. "Don't think you're getting out of this."

The man returned. "It's going to be about an hour. The truck just got here."

Vash frowned. "Then what are we supposed to do now?"

"Hell if I know. Go get lunch or something. My brother's ... 'friend'" he said rolling his eyes, " Owns this pasta place across the street." And with that he returned to the back of the store. As Vash wondered if every American was this obnoxious or just the ones he met, Kiku had disappeared.

**xxx**

Well, not really, but for about thirty seconds it seemed that way. Vash spotted the small Japanese man at the entrance of the afore mentioned restaurant. They walked in.

"You need to stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Randomly disappearing and reappearing somewhere different. It's confusing."

Kiku lips acquired a ghost of a smile. "Alfred-kun would call that 'being ninja'."

Vash rolled his eyes at the mention of Alfred when a waiter came to the table. A very... _happy_ waiter. Too happy.

"Ciao~! Welcome to _'Pasta mai Basta*!' _What would you like today?"

The happy go lucky aura surrounding the squinty eyed, light brown haired waiter was almost overwhelming. Vash could practically _feel_ his brain cells dying.

"J-Just a regular bowl of pasta."

"Hai, I will have the same."

The waiter looked ecstatic. "All right, coming right up!"

As the man left, the atmosphere dropped back to where it had previously been. After a few minuets, Vash couldn't take it anymore.

"Tell me what's going on!"

Kiku's eyes dropped left and down. Again. "I don't know what you're talkin-"

"You do! You know you do!" Vash slammed his hands on the table in frustration. "You... don't understand how important she is to me," he said softly.

Kiku stared on in silence.

"Lili isn't my real sister. Dammit. My family is very... successful, we're very fortunate.

When I was eleven years old, my family and I went to our vacation home in the neighboring country of Lichtenstein. Since I was an only child, there wasn't anyone for me to play with, so I enjoyed exploring the village we were in. One day, I was on my way back to the house, and it started to pour. I started running, but then I heard a voice say 'thief!' I turned around to see what was going on, expecting the police to be chasing a man with money... or, I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't what I found."

Vash looked away in anger. Remembering.

"A little girl. They were chasing down a little girl with three apples in her arms. There was a group of children with stolen food running away, but the girl was the only one caught. No one came back to help her. I ran up to where they were struggling..."

_ Vash ran up to the little girl with the apples, trying her best not to get them taken away. One of the shopkeepers recognized him. _

_ "Mr. Zwingli, you should get home, you'll catch a cold."_

_ But Vash wasn't listening, he was looking into the girls' eyes, and suddenly something clicked. _

_ "She's my sister."_

_The shopkeepers looked at each other. "I think you're confused, she's part of those orphans who were stealin-"_

_ "I said she's my little sister!" Vash took some coins out of his pocket and thrust them at the shopkeeper. "Here's the money for the apples. Now let her go so we can get home." Vash stared at the two men, daring them to challenge him. The men let go of the girl who looked at Vash with confused eyes. _

_ "Come on, lets go home." Vash took her hand and they began walking through the rain. _

_ "What's your name?"_

_ The little girl pulled on one of her braids, watching the water drip out of it. _

_ "Lili."_

Kiku sat in silence as Vash finished the story.

"I promised... I promised myself that I would never let Lili face the world alone again. So please, if you know anything about what's going on, tell me. I have to protect her." Vash looked down, hands fisted and shaking on the table. A smaller, smoother hand fit over Vash's. Dark brown eyes met green ones, and for a moment they just sat there. Learning things from each others eyes that could never be put into words.

"Vash-san, I -"

"Order up!"

Both froze as the ditzy looking Italian waiter returned with two steaming hot plates of pasta.

The two men stared at the Italian in silence. A angry looking German man came over and dragged the waiter away. Vash thought he heard the man say something about reading the atmosphere, but he couldn't be sure. Kiku blushed and removed his hand from the other's, who's something twisted deep inside his chest again.

**xxx**

Vash coughed to disperse the awkwardness. "S-So... were you going to tell me something?"

The Japanese man sighed. "Have you ever heard of Roma Real Estate?"

"Yes, of course. It's famous."

"Then you no doubt know that the creator of the company, Romulus Roma, recently passed away. In his life time the company expanded to much more than Real Estate, though it kept that name. It's said to be one of the most successful international businesses today."

"What's this have to do with Lili?"

The Japanese man frowned. "That's what I want to know. His will is being read in Rome right now, and all family and friends who are included in it were sent a letter, inviting them to come."

Something in Vash's head clicked. "Is that where Roderich is?"

The smaller man nodded.

"But... how do you know about all of this? And I still don't know what this has to do with Lili."

The Japanese man's eye quickly shifted to the right and down. Wait... embarrassment?

"Ah, well, you see... Roma's lawyer, Ms. Hedervary, hired me."

When a blush started to spread across Kiku's face and he seemed reluctant to continue, Vash said, "She hired you."

"Hai."

"... To do what? You're a photographer right?"

"Ah, yes. You see, she wanted a picture of all the people invited to the will reading, and since I was in New York, she asked me to photograph the ones here."

"That's it? I don't see how that's..." Suddenly, a memory from a not too long ago phone call came back to him. A time when he had been trying to get the prick to get his ass back to the shop. _"The lawyer, Ms. Hedervary, strongly recommends that I stay for a while... there are some pictures... no idea where she got them..."_

Vash almost choked on the (surprisingly delicious) pasta. "Just what the hell kind of pictures did you take?"

"T-T-That's not important, what's important is the list I was given! The list of people whose picture I had to take, Lili-san's name was on it."

A serious look came to Vash's face like a shadow. "What?"

"Well, not the final list. The man that's currently running Roma Real Estate is Alfred's boss, so Alfred was the one who delivered the list for him. But, well you know Alfred, he gave me the wrong list first. I was looking through the list when Alfred suddenly freaked out and snatched it from my hands. 'Sorry' he said, 'That's the old one, you need the updated version.' But when I received the new list, there was only one change. The name Lili Zwingli was replaced with Roderich Edelstein."

"But... What does it mean?"

Kiku looked up. "I don't know, but that's all I know. I think someone might be messing with the will. I needed a day job and Alfred said there might be one at a nearby flower shop. Though I didn't expect him to leave me here."

Just then the (really, really too f*cking happy) waiter came back. "Did you two enjoy the pasta?~" God, you could _hear _the squiggly at the end of that sentence.

**xxx**

After they had retrieved the soil from the obnoxious albino man, Kiku and Vash walked back to the shop. Lili was, of course, happy to see them, and they worked the rest of the day. Lili made clam chowder for dinner and she ecstatically spoke about how tomorrow a shipment of Lilies were coming in, and she shyly revealed they were her favorite flower. Vash looked at his sister for a long time that night, and thought about what Kiku had said. He shook his head. No, there was no way Lili would have gotten involved with someone like Roma, where would she even meet such a man? But even so, he was going to have a lot of questions for the prick when he got home...

Vash was putting his dish away when he was approached (at least he thought so... he never really saw him coming) by Kiku.

"Ah.. would you come with me Vash-san?"

The something in Vash's chest twisted just a bit, as if to remind Vash it was there. "S-Sure."

Lili caught Kiku's eye, and she gave him an encouraging smile. Just what was going on...? Vash pondered this as he was led (by the hand, which really wasn't helping the whole chest problem) down to the flower shop below the apartment. Once they were inside, Kiku turned on a lamp that dimly lit the room, and Vash was trying not to think of how the light pooled on the slants of Kiku's face, and how the shirt he wore was open a bit at the collar, exposing a frail collar bone that Vash had never fully appreciated before. He quickly shook the thought away, and was immediately bombarded with the twisting pain that had ailed him for the last week. The Swiss man leaned against the wall in pain, but Kiku didn't notice.

"I already made one for Lili-san, it was quite a bit different then yours, of course. It's... It's a thank you, for letting me stay here."

Vash found himself face to face with... a bouquet of flowers?

"You asked me what flower you would be... but I got a bit carried away and came up with a whole group of them. See, the Oak Leaves mean you are strong..."

But Vash wasn't looking at the Oak Leaves.

"... and the Bluebells stand for gratitude, and I know how you dislike pink, so..."

Vash wasn't looking at the Bluebells.

"... and the Violet in the middle is for watchfulness, because you watch over Lili-san..."

Vash was looking at the violet. Because one night, he had been curious. After the first time Kiku had mentioned the meaning of flowers, he looked through a book that Lili conveniently had about the subject. He remembered reading about Violets. How that particular flower had more than one meaning.

The something in Vash's chest hit its limit.

"Do you know, Kiku," Vash said as he walked toward he Asian man, "The _other_ meaning for a Violet?"

The smaller man thought, and then turned a bright shade of red. "B-But-"

Kiku was never able to finish his sentence, as his mouth was covered by another, and he was pushed up against the wall of the flower shop.

Vash greedily melted into the kiss as all the pain in his chest not only disappeared, but was replaced with a euphoric feeling he'd never felt before. His hand gently brushed though Kiku's hair and slowly lead down until it had a firm hold on his waist. Then Kiku, who had been still and stiff, wrapped his arms around the other's neck. The flowers fell to the floor, all but forgotten as the two moved closer then they thought possible.

Vash suddenly remembered that breathing was not only good thing, but also essential to life. He reluctantly pulled away. Kiku tried to catch his breath. "I thought you weren't familiar with the language of flowers?"

Vash gave the other a deep kiss and looked into his hazy eyes. "I'm glad I learned."

**xxx**

_The business man was pacing once again. But this time it wasn't in worry, it was in excitement. Everything was falling into place, it was working... he would have almost felt better if something had gone wrong. But even now, a sliver of guilt ran though him... But no. This was not the time to think of useless things. A smile came to his lips. Soon the world would find out who he was. His days of backbreaking work in the background were over. With him the company would expand and become twice as powerful as before... The looks on his brothers faces would be priceless... _

_"You got the right idea there," said a familiar voice. The business man turned to see a smiling Alfred walking in yet again without knocking. "That's the look of a villain who's thinking of their nefarious plans."_

_"Nefarious? Villain?" __ The business man scoffed. __ "If anything I'm in the right. I spent my entire career working for this company, working for Roma, and I never asked for anything in return. While my brothers took additional schooling I worked. I did everything for that man, spent half my life working for him. I expected him to leave me something when he passed. I dreamed about CEO, or anything, a higher position. Anything to show me that all the work I did was appreciated. "_

_The business man had worked himself up, and had to take a breath before continuing. _

_"Nothing. The day after he died I looked at the will expecting... _something._ But he left everything, everything he owned, his house, his cars, his money, the whole bloody company to Lili Zwingli. Who the hell is she? He never had an appointment with her. His schedule was packed. Do you know how I knew his schedule? It's because I bloody made it!"_

_The business man collapsed in his chair, head in his hands. Alfred walked over to him, smile gone from his face. "Arthur..." _

_"Enough." His voice broke. "The world isn't kind to those who play by the rules. Anyone who doesn't fight for what they want won't move up, the powers that be will not allow it. If the world isn't fair, isn't kind, I won't be either." The business man stood up, green eyes icing over. He looked over at his desk, where a picture of a young blond girl with a ribbon in her hair shyly smiled. _

_"I'll do what ever it takes."_

**Translations: (Italian) Basta mai Pasta! - Never Enough Pasta!  
(Flower) Oak Leaf - pillar of strength, strong confident  
(Flower) Bluebells - humility, consistency, gratitude  
(Flower) Violets - watchfulness, love, lets take a chance on happiness**

**So now you know where the 'Powers' part of the title came from! As for 'Flowers'... I think that one was a bit obvious.**

**Also, CLIFFHANGER OF DOOM! (Cue lightning and thunder)**

**Reviews are the candy of the soul...~ **


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